Posted on

$15 PINE64 64-Bit ARM Single Board Computer is Powered by Allwinner R18 Processor (Crowdfunding)

It looks like Next Things’ C.H.I.P computer with Allwinner R8 processor will soon have a big brother with PINE A64 board powered by Allwinner R18 / A64 quad core Cortex A53 processor, and made by a US start-up also called PINE 64. PINE A64 and PINE A64+, a version with more memory and features, will have the following specifications: SoC – Allwinner R18 (based on Allwinner A64?) quad core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory PINE64 –  512 MB DDR3 PINE64+ – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – micro SD slot supporting up to 256 GB Video Output HDMI 1.4 up to 4K resolution @ 30 Hz PINE64+ only –  4-lane MIPI DSI connector and touch panel connector Video Codecs – H.265 up to 4K Audio – HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone jack Connectivity PINE64 – Fast Ethernet + optional WiFi & Bluetooth module PINE64+ – […]

Posted on

Orange Pi Plus 2 Allwinner H3 Board Includes 2GB Memory

Shenzhen Xunlong has made yet another Allwinner H3 board. It’s called Orange Pi Plus 2 with basically the same specifications as Orange Pi Plus, but the layout has been modified with a slightly wider board, and the RAM upgraded from 1GB to 2GB. Orange Pi Plus 2 specifications: SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU up to 600 MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC, micro SD card slot, SATA interface (via a USB to SATA chip), Video Output – HDMI, AV port Audio I/O – HDMI, AV port, on-board microphone Connectivity – 10/100/1000M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (Realtek RTL8189ETV) USB – 4x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port Camera – CSI Interface Expansions – 40-pin Raspberry Pi Model A+/B+ (mostly) compatible header Debugging – 3-pin UART header for serial console Misc – IR receiver; Power, […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC
Posted on

NanoPi2 is a Tiny Board with Samsung S5P4418 Processor, WiFi and Bluetooth Connectivity

FriendlyARM released NanoPi board this summer, a small and inexpensive development board based on Samsung S3C2451 ARM9 processor with both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The company has now unveils a more powerful, and slightly wider, version with NanoPi2 featuring Samsung S5P4418 quad core Cortex A9 processor with 1GB RAM, AP6212 wireless module, a new HDMI output, and the same connectors for I/Os and LCD displays. NanoPi2 specifications: SoC – Samsung S5P4418 quad core Cortex A9 processor @ up to 1.4GHz System Memory – 1GB 32bit DDR3 Storage – 2 x Micro SD Slot Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth LE 4.0 via AP6212 module Video Output / Display I/F- 1x HDMI 1.4a, 0.5 mm pitch SMT FPC seat for type-A full-color LCD (RGB: 8-8-8) Camera – 24-pin DVP interface USB – 1x USB Host port; 1x micro USB 2.0 OTG port for power and data Expansions Headers – 40-pin […]

Posted on

Linux Quick Start Guide for Roseapple Pi Board based on Actions Semi S500 Processor

Roseapple Pi is a development board powered by Actions Semi S500 processor with 2GB RAM, a USB 3.0 port and more, that is based on Actions Semi Bubblegum-S500 reference design also used by Lemon Pi board. The team behind the project sent me an early sample to try it out. I’ll take some pictures, before explaining how to install and setup Debian 8.1, and how to build and run your own minimal image from source. These instructions should also work for Lemon Pi and LeMaker Guitar boards. Roseapple Pi Photos I received the board in a bubble envelope with a thank you letter, and the board itself in an anti-static bag. No other accessories were provided. Ports, connectors, and headers from top left counter-clockwise: 4-pin UART console, two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, 10/100 Ethernet, a 40-pin Raspberry Pi comptabile header, a MIPI DSI connected, a micro USB […]

Posted on

Archos Introduces Free PicoWAN IoT Gateway, Costing 75 Cents Per Year Per Connected Device

The Internet of Things is promising billions of connected devices in the next few years, and while devices at home can usually connect through your broadband connection at no extra cost, devices on the field may need to use cellular connectivity and cheap 2G network are being phased out by Telcos. Weightless, operating over white space frequencies, is one of several solutions proposed to connect IoT objects over longer distances, but Archos has their own project with PicoWAN pico-gateways using LoRa(WAN) protocol which allows for several kilometers range. PicoWAN would plug into your wall socket, connect to your broadband network over WiFI and offer connectivity to various “things” over LoRa. Creating a cellular network is expensive, due to the costs of base stations, but PicoWAN is so cheap, 100 times cheap than traditional base stations, that Archos plans to giveaway 200,000 gateways across Europe to create an IoT network. That […]

Posted on

Roseapple Pi Board Powered by Actions Semi S500 Comes with 2GB RAM

[Update: I’ve finally received an answer: Lemon Pi and RoseapplePi makers are different companies, but they just happen to both use the same Actions Semi S500 reference design, and RoseapplePi is manufactured in Taiwan. The picture above is V1.0 board, but V1.1 will have some modifications] Lemon Pi development board was launched this May via a Indiegogo campaign. The board, based Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9 processor, got fully funded by over 200 backers, but at the time of launch, some people questioned the used of the word “Lemon” in a product name, as it has several pejorative meanings, including “something that is useless or crappy”. I was contacted about a new Roseapple Pi board yesterday, and upon checking out the details, it looks exactly like the Lemon Pi, except it got upgraded to 2GB RAM, just like in Indiegogo… The board name on the PCB also reads […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs
Posted on

Status of Orange Pi Boards GPIO Support

Yesterday, one person asked me to make a video showing GPIO control on Orange Pi 2 mini on YouTube, and since I have just completed a post about Orange Pi camera, I thought it might be fun to check GPIO support too. This post focuses on Allwinner H3 boards, but the instructions and status should be very similar for Allwinner A20 and A31s versions. One of the first things you want before starting playing with GPIOs is the expansion header’s pinout chart, and I could not find any until I had the idea to check for schematics, which are available on Orange Pi resources page. I downloaded the schematics for Orange Pi 2, which should be the same as for Orange Pi 2 mini as the only difference is the lack of WiFi module. Orange Pi PC is a little different, and the schematics are nowhere to be found, but […]

Posted on

Debian 8 on Orange Pi mini 2 Board (Video)

Yesterday, I wrote a quick start guide for Orange Pi PC / 2 / Plus showing how to install Linux distributions on the board, and build your own image. With the launch of the $15 Orange Pi PC, Xunlong Software has taken over 1,500 orders for the board on their Aliexpress store, and probably sold a few hundreds or thousands in China via Taobao. So the board got relatively popular in a short time, considering it’s only selling via these two channels. I tested my tutorial with Orange Pi mini 2 ($23), a very similar board also based on Allwinner H3, but just a little larger and with an extra USB hosty port, but apart from that it’s similar to Orange Pi PC, and software compatible. I had already wrote about my test results in the previous article, where I did not recommend using the board in Linux as a […]

Boardcon Rockchip and Allwinner SoM and SBC products